Since the third edition was published in 1996, there have been significant developments in this key strategic and economic relationship. Kryzanek builds on the text and themes of previous editions and further examines the ties between the United States and the nations of Latin America. These ties reveal new opportunities, challenges, and tensions. During the second term of President Bill Clinton and now in the Bush presidency, hemispheric relations have been centered on issues of trade, investment, and resource development. The impact of globalization on the region was only beginning to be felt when the third edition of the text went to print, but now it is clear that the rules and demands of a globalized economy have changed the face of Latin America. Numerous areas of public policy that are critical ingredients to the national interests of both the United States and Latin America, such as immigration, drug smuggling, gang violence, leftist revolution, cultural transformations, and regional security continue to test the relationships between the United States and Latin American governments.

Because this text has in the past concentrated on the foreign policy process within the United States government, the proposed new edition will not only update this process but add discussion of new participants in the shaping and implementation of policies toward Latin America. For example, there will be an accent on the growing role of Hispanics within the United States in pressuring for changes in United States policy in a number of areas. Institutionally, there will be new discussion of the role that the Department of Homeland Security plays in United States-Latin American relations, particularly with respect to border and anti-terrorism issues. Key chapters will be reformulated in order to show how the United States makes policy toward Latin America and how the Latin Americans respond to policy initiatives. Presenting how policy is made toward the region is an essential pathway toward understanding how this relationship has evolved and why there have been both successes and failures between the United States and the countries of Latin America.